We bit the bullet today and traded our old 'TC from hell' in for a new TC: a Livin Lite 8.6. We bought it for the following reasons:- this is their long bed model and it has no overhang behind the truck (good for offroading).- strength: aluminum frame with composite: no wood (no rot) and no steel (no rust). Being Airstream owners, this sounded very appealing. According to my research, it should also hold up well in mild off road conditions.- light weight: with my limited knowledge of TCs, I think it's pretty light weight for the size.- indoor toilet/shower (which most of the popup campers don't offer).I compared other TC suitable for mild 4x4 trips and looked at Outfitter, Fourwheelcamper and Hallmark. These three are popup TCs and provide much less storage; although the storage in the Livin Lite isn't great either.However, Livin Lite is cheaper and more importantly: available today from a local dealer here in Texas. The other 3 brands required ordering straight from the manufacturer (no dealers) and neither had the model that we wanted in stock, so it would take about 16 weeks of waiting ... which is actually when we're likely to be coming back from our Central America trip. ;)Even though our old 'TC from hell' had considerable water damage and issues, the dealer offered a trade-in value near the book value, but more importantly after long negotiations, offered an additional considerable discount on the new TC and we were able to get some extras in the deal (Yamaha generator, Happijac tie-downs, etc.) ... so needless to say: we are excited! We feel that the 'TC from hell' is now just a bad memory and that we were able to negotiate a good deal that compensated us for buying the 'TC from hell' last week.We'd love to hear from other Livin Lite owners to see how you feel about your TC and any good ideas for mods!Thanks.

Congrats! You made an excellent decision. Best o luck on your travels.

That's Awesome, you should post some pics. If I ever buy another TC, It will be a Livin lite.

Thanks! Here is the listing with pictures for our new TC: Livin Lite 8.6We're possibly picking it up later this week from the dealer.

Congratulations with your new Livin Lite. Bet it feels good to get rid of the the TC from Hell. Keep in touch with pictures on your trip to Central America, and enjoy your trip.Scott

We bought a new TC: Livin Lite 8.6 | Good Sam Community

46 Replies

lap527
Explorer
Sep 17, 2014
DieselBurps wrote:
To the OP, I saw your article in TCM and thought it was very cool. Can you comment on how your camper held up on your trip? I am wondering if it would get hotter inside because its aluminum? Did the fridge work to keep things cold and from spoiling in the tropical heat? Anything you would different or change on the camper if you were to do the trip again?

Also to the OP, We would also love to know how the fridge worked on your trip. We had to replace fridge and it still got too warm when traveling. Parked our fridge works great! We now have added the baffle kit but haven't used the camper since adding the kit. Please keep us posted on your mods and your trips. BTW...we do like the basic look but have taken out bunk, changed mattress to standard double house mattress, changing mattress size allowed us room on each side of bed for duffle bags for clothing, etc, added carpet, and added wire shelves to increase cabinet storage. It's comfortable and homey now. I sleep like a baby in our TC.
The_Mad_Norsky
Explorer
Sep 17, 2014
Jaxom wrote:
Very nice write up and pics.

X 2 on that for me. Very nice article.
Jaxom
Explorer
Sep 17, 2014
Very nice write up and pics.
DieselBurps
Explorer
Sep 17, 2014
To the OP, I saw your article in TCM and thought it was very cool. Can you comment on how your camper held up on your trip? I am wondering if it would get hotter inside because its aluminum? Did the fridge work to keep things cold and from spoiling in the tropical heat? Anything you would different or change on the camper if you were to do the trip again?
delosholly
Explorer
Dec 24, 2013
Sorry I am just seeing this, holidays have been busy. We own the Camplite Model 10.0. We are leaving Thursday for our first longer trip in it, about a 10 hour drive; however, we have made several short trips since purchasing it this summer.
First mod was adding a 4" memory foam pad on top of stock mattress (Walmart). We bought two RV style table legs with mounts and mounted the table in-place.
In our closet there is a metal box that protrudes into it (it is the exterior generator storage box) that had sharp corners, but we removed the bunk bed from over the bench seat and used the corner protectors that came on it to cover the sharp corners in the closet.
Also, we bought aluminum gutters from a local RV dealer (very inexpensive) an covered all exterior door openings.
We added a couple of plastic storage shelves inside the bathroom, above the toilet. These are the 3M adhesive type sold at all Walmarts and Lowes and Home Depots. Warning, the adhesive strips do not work well on the Adzel material.
Hope you enjoy you Livin Lite as much as e have so far.
Del
NightSailor
Explorer
Dec 24, 2013
jefe 4x4 wrote:
Jorn,

Remember that propane is not as available in Mexico as it is in more northern America.
This is a very attractive camper. Keep me (us) posted on how it works out. Your post and choice has sparked my interest, especially when they said it is completely insulated (walls and ceiling).
regards, as always, jefe

Mexico is America's beard!

I second Jeje's comments about your new camper. I love aluminum and have a project I hope to get on the road in the next few years. Keep us posted--and that camper should last a lifetime. I'd be interested to see how well it holds up. I'll bet--really well!

NS
jornvango
Explorer II
Dec 24, 2013
Thanks! When we stopped by the dealer the other day, they were working on the 'TC from hell'. Not sure if they were preparing it for sale on their lot or preparing it for sale to a wholesaler.
whizbang
Explorer II
Dec 22, 2013
Congrats on the new camper. Nice negotiating job -- amazing that the dealer would take that dog camper off your hands.

Have fun.
jornvango
Explorer II
Dec 21, 2013
Fishbreath wrote:
Jornvango

Congratulations. Might I ask.... Did Camp Lite change the design of the cabinet frames to eliminate the sharp corners? I looked at the pictures and the frames in your rig are painted, so I couldn't tell.

Keep us posted on your likes/dislikes after a few road trips. Many of us are interested in this brand.

Thanks, and good luck.

Bill

Bill, as far as I can tell, there are no sharp corners in our TC. We have the optional dark cherry with black trim cabinets. The trim is rounded on the corners and so no sharp edges. Same thing goes for the outside where the TC has the optional black trim on the corners.

For the interested readers, I have started a new topic to cover our road trip through Central America:

Road trip through Central America 2013-2014
Fishbreath
Explorer II
Dec 21, 2013
Jornvango

Congratulations. Might I ask.... Did Camp Lite change the design of the cabinet frames to eliminate the sharp corners? I looked at the pictures and the frames in your rig are painted, so I couldn't tell.

Keep us posted on your likes/dislikes after a few road trips. Many of us are interested in this brand.

Thanks, and good luck.

Bill